Yeastimites Reference List

Caesar, E. (2006) Marmite: how do you eat yours? Retrieved September 24, 2008 from http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/food-and-drink/features/marmite-how-do-you-eat-yours-417161.html

Greenpeace. (n.d.) GE free (or not) foods. Retrieved September 24, 2008 from http://www.gefreefood.org.nz/product.asp?id=1583
http://www.gefreefood.org.nz/product.asp?id=2255

Kraft Foods Ltd. (n.d.) Cyril Percy Callister. Retrieved September 24, 2008 from
http://www.kraft.com.au/Products/KRAFTHistory/FredWalkerFounder/PercyCallister.htm

“PostalMonk3y” (2008) Vegemite Tutorial 2. Retrieved September 24, 2008 from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lYycM61NBHc&feature=related

Sanitarium. (n.d.) All things Marmite, including recipes and history. Retrieved September 24, 2008 from
http://www.marmite.co.nz/
http://www.marmite.co.nz/home-page/bite-me
http://www.marmite.co.nz/home-page/history/timeline

“Sweetibek” (2007) American Girls try Vegemite. Retrieved September 24, 2008 from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WS2Gzp8XgFQ

Thomson, A. (2008) Collated on delicious.com. Retrieved September 3, 2008 from http://delicious.com/Stranger.Than.Fiction/?page=1

Marmite (n.d.) Retrieved September 3, 2008 from
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marmite

Vegemite (n.d.) Retrieved September 3, 2008 from
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vegemite

British and New Zealand histories of Marmite (n.d.) Retrieved September 24, 2008, from
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marmite#British_Marmite_history
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marmite#New_Zealand_Marmite

The history of Vegemite (n.d.) Retrieved September 24, 2008 from
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vegemite#History

Last Post - The Changing Face of Marmite...

I spoke to a friend recently, who lived in England for a few years. She told me that British Marmite is vastly different from the stuff made in New Zealand. Its more syrupy apparently, tastes even sweeter than the stuff here, and is available in squeezy bottles.

Dude. I know.

Having expressed my surprise, she also added that later, when trekking around Africa, and when the British Marmite was all that was available…well, some people will do anything for a fix.

Getting back to the squeezy bottle issue though – this apparently caused some serious outrage amongst Marmite people when it came out around 2002. People actually wrote into Marmite’s current producer in the UK, Unilever, and proclaimed their disgust.

I’m just guessing, but it’s because of the squeezy bottle, that the Brit’s Marmite is so very gooey, compared to the Kiwi kind, which is more like, ooh, I dunno, margarine? ‘Cept stickier.

When Marmite got over here, it was still the imported British stuff up until the Thirties, and we only started making our own about a decade later, sourced and produced in Christchurch. The experimentation that resulted in the unique flavour and consistency we know (and in many cases love) today was reached by messing round with the original British product and then introducing local ingredients.

Yay, home-grown!

We’ve also come a long way from the glass jars too, although I still remember when you could buy it in the one’s that doubled as glasses once all the Marmite was gone. We don’t have any left at home, sadly (I think they met a rather unfortunate end when my brother, then seven, got his mucky paws on them. Butterfingers.)

Whatever. I’m just hoping I never have to live off the not so fun syrupy stuff that passes for Marmite in the UK.

So, until given a reason to complain, this is Stranger, signing off.

A Short History - Marmite

Marmite – my hero!

Marmite, in all its salty, malty sweetness, is made by Sanitarium – who, by the way have a blanket policy of no GE or GMO materials in any of their products. This of course includes Marmite.

Personally, I got into Marmite when I was about eight. After having had it at a friend’s place, I grumped and nagged and groused about having to have Vegemite at home until my beleaguered mother gave in and started buying Marmite for me while continuing to get Vegemite for my younger brother. Since she couldn’t tell the difference, though, my brother and I got into the habit of cautiously sniffing our sandwiches before we took them to school, to make sure we hadn’t been given the wrong ones.

Historically, Marmite is the first ever yeast spread, and also the first to grace New Zealand’s fair shores. Back in the day, people used to eat it in sandwiches with lettuce. Now, however, the general populace has apparently come to its collective senses – one of the most popular childhood sandwiches I ever encountered was a Marmite and chip roll. In fact, its one of the recipes recommended on the Marmite website.

As Vegemite’s elder sibling, Marmite kicked off as a beer making by product too, and was invented by – you guessed it – The Marmite Food Extract Company, first formed in Burton upon Trent, Staffordshire, England, in 1902. However, you many be interested to know that Marmite in general has grown and changed since then…

(hokay, lets try this again...) A Short History - Vegemite

How about a bit of background?

Let’s kick off with Vegemite.

Vegemite began life as the leftovers of beer making (hence the yeast) and was transformed into its current incarnation by one Doctor Cyril P. Callister in 1923.

Essentially, because World War One had disrupted imports of Marmite to the Kangaroo Continent, the natives were getting restless, and so the good Doctor was given brewer’s yeast to work with to satisfy the hunger of the masses.

He must have done something right, because today, Vegemite outsells all of its competitors in both New Zealand and Australia.

Yay.

Not.

One thing I still love about the stuff is the reactions it gets out of unsuspecting foreigners. Americans especially seem to cop the flack of the Aussies’ sense of humour. YouTube is littered with videos of Australians teaching those of US of A the 'correct' way to eat said yeasty spread. YouTube is also littered with their reactions. It’s never pretty…

However…Vegemite ain’t all that and a bag of chips either, because Kraft Australia, its maker and owner, will not say if their products contain genetically engineered or modified ingredients. However, Kraft New Zealand did put out a statement saying that the Vegemite manufactured in NZ didn’t have any GE nasties in it (we’re saved! Well, you guys are, I don’t eat the stuff anyway).

On the GE note, let’s flick across to the direct opposition…

The Four Camps

Humanity is fond of putting the contents of the world into manageable boxes, dividing them according to some criteria or other. Inevitably, these boxes, these stereotypes are bound to cause offence. Far from being the exception to the rule, I’ve decided I’m simply going to provide a slightly less offence set of criteria to group the world into.

All it depends upon is whether you like yeast spreads.

As I see it, there are Four Camps, all of which can be found in my very own household.

1. My Dad – hates all yeast spreads and considers them to be the devil incarnate.
2. My Brother – a Happy Little Vegemite and like me, raised on the stuff. Still loyal to this day.
3. Me – the Marmite Turncoat, who forsook the yeast spread of her childhood and went looking for sweeter pastures with the opposition.
4. My Mum – who has always eaten Vegemite, but honestly can’t tell the difference and doesn’t much care, seeing as she doesn’t even eat bread anymore.

So to summarize: we have the Haters, the Vegemites, the Marmites and Switzerland (sort of).

Think deeply now, where do you sit – where doest thy heart rest upon the weighty balance of yeasty goodness?